When Love Island Australia star Lexy Thornberry first saw Kiwi boxer Dave Nyika in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she was intrigued and immediately looked him up on Instagram before sending a private message. Then she waited and waited, and while she could see he had read her message, he never replied.
So when Lexy realised he was going to be working with her boxing-trainer dad Noel Thornberry on their Queensland farm, she worried it would be awkward and embarrassing.
“I remember seeing your face come up in my feed for Love Island, but it wasn’t until you told me about it that I remembered you’d messaged,” Dave, 27, explains, while holding Lexy’s hand during our exclusive Woman’s Day interview. “But I didn’t reply because I was in a relationship at the time.”
The middleweight fighter had moved from New Zealand to the UK before accepting a training camp with Noel, who is the son of Australian boxer Trevor “Iceman” Thornberry.
Trading blows in Melbourne with Titi Motusaga.
He and Lexy, 21, met within days of his arrival at the farm in Gatton in rural Queensland, and their connection was almost instant. “My plan initially was to go to Australia for a fight camp for about four weeks, but as soon as I got there, I realised I’d already found another home,” recalls Dave, who is a double Commonwealth Games gold medallist and an Olympic bronze medallist.
“The Thornberry family treated me like one of their own. I had been away from New Zealand for about nine months and it was the first time I hadn’t felt homesick.”
Instantly at ease in Lexy’s company, Dave found his home away from home on her family’s farm.
Lexy couldn’t believe she was spending time with her celebrity crush, but she was determined to be her down-to-earth self and the pair started to bond during training sessions.
“That was in May and we kind of hit it off pretty quickly,” she shares. “We used training together as a form of flirting instead of going on a date.”
Seven months on, the couple spend every spare minute together – and the tough guy with a soft heart admits he feels very lucky.
“I feel like Australia’s a second home now,” enthuses Dave. “I feel totally blessed to be welcomed by the Thornberry family, and can’t wait to see what happens for me and Lexy from here. I honestly feel like things couldn’t be going better.
“What I love about Lexy is that she’s compassionate, she doesn’t realise how much love she has and how much she cares about people. She exudes this energy and kindness, and we bounce off each other
really well.
“In this day and age, it’s really hard to find people with a genuine capability to just be honest and real. And obviously she’s bloody gorgeous – that’s the cherry on top.”
Lexy is equally keen to rave about their happiness, saying, “Dave is the most beautiful man. Beautiful on the inside and outside. He is genuinely nice and generous.”
The pair had planned to spend Christmas in Hamilton, after a New Zealand bout where Dave was going to introduce Lexy to his friends and family. But he was injured in a fight, so Lexy’s first trip out of Australia was delayed. He is now training with the goal to be back in the ring in February or March.
Woman’s Day chatted to the couple while they were holidaying with the extended Thornberry brood on the Sunshine Coast just before the end of the year – and Dave was feeling the pressure of choosing the perfect gift for their first Christmas together.
“I want to make a great first impression, but at the same time, I’m thinking, ‘It’s only upwards from here!’ I’ve put a lot of thought into it and we’ve spent a lot of time together. I know what she’s interested in and where her passions lie, so I think I’m gonna nail it.”
Lexy was equally confident, explaining, “Gift giving is my love language and I know what I’m getting him. We want to spoil each other.”
They have a lot in common. Lexy is a keen boxer and enjoys keeping fit. She’s also studying to be a nutritionist and personal trainer, so she can fully immerse herself in the fitness world.
And the loved-up pair are both family-focused. Dave has an older brother and sister, while Lexy has one sister and three brothers, who have helped Dave navigate the farm without getting bitten by a snake. He admits that even as a tough boxer, he’s scared of the creatures. “In New Zealand, you can go through any bushland barefoot and nothing’s going to bite you. Here, I’m terrified – they have some of the most deadly snakes in Australia.”
Dave is a former ambassador for SPCA, and spent more than three years fostering puppies and kittens. He is eager to help work with the RSPCA in Australia and plans to start a rescue-dog ranch in the
near future.
Of the way things have turned out, he says, “I have to admit, I was thinking, ‘This is a bit too good to be true’. The universe works in mysterious ways. I can’t believe how everything has fallen into place.”
